NEW: Pope Leo Appoints Priest Who Ministers to LGBT Catholics as Bishop in Oregon

Fr. Thomas Hennen, 47, spent a decade in Iowa ministering to LGBT Catholics.

Fr. Hennen is the latest in a string of unique appointments by Pope Leo to the United States.

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This morning, Pope Leo appointed Fr. Thomas Hennen — who's spent years ministering to LGBT Catholics in Iowa — as bishop of Baker, Oregon.

Until today, he served as vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa and was a key member of the diocesan committee that authored one of the most widely praised and pastorally sensitive Church documents on gender and sexuality in recent memory.

The Guidelines for Pastoral Accompaniment of Sexual and Gender Minorities, released by then-Davenport Bishop Thomas Zinkula in October 2023, broke from the punitive tone of many diocesan policies.

Instead of fixating on bathroom bans or dress codes, the document was built around five principles: dignity of the human person, acknowledging lived reality, love first and listen, involving others, and case-by-case discernment.

Fr. Hennen played a central role in crafting it.

“We try to bring these two things that seem contradictory together,” he told National Catholic Reporter at the time, “the rich teaching on Christian anthropology that we can't toss out and a boots-on-the-ground pastoral approach.”

He added: “We have zero opportunity to work with or evangelize or help in any way families facing these questions if we have such a hard line that they say, ‘See you later, Catholic Church.’”

Now, that same priest — one who’s spent years ministering to LGBT Catholics with humility and care — is becoming a bishop.

It fits Pope Leo’s emerging strategy in the United States: elevate local pastors who know their people, empower immigrants and outsiders, and choose leaders who are building bridges, not walls.

Before his election as pope, Leo served as the Vatican’s global head of bishop selection, meaning no modern pope has known the world’s episcopacy more intimately — or personally.

Previous appointments under Pope Leo include Vietnamese refugee Bishop Michael Pham of San Diego, who accompanied migrants to their deportation hearings on June 20; Ugandan-born Bishop Simon Engurait of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana; and Nicaraguan-born Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Chau of Newark.

In a political moment where Trump is doubling down on hardline immigration and culture war tactics, Pope Leo is doing the opposite — responding with pastoral accompaniment, immigrant leadership, and compassion rooted in tradition.

Fr. Hennen’s appointment isn’t a headline-grabber, but it may be yet another sign of the kind of American Church Pope Leo wants to build.

UPDATE 12:46 PM EDT: Vatican watcher Rich Raho notes that Bishop-elect Hennen’s predecessor expressed skepticism about Pope Francis’s decree allowing priests to bless persons in same-sex relationships.

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Paid subscriptions start at only $6.67 per month and will get you full access to this multi-part series on life and formation of Pope Leo.